Moscow's Stray Dogs

Proof that the penchant for canines is not confined to the United States comes from a fascinating article about Moscow's Stray Dogs in the Financial Times. Muscovites are enamored with pure bred dogs as well as the vast population of strays that roam the city, as Susanne Sternthal reports.

There are approximately 35,000 stray dogs that roam Moscow's capital city--which breaks down to about 84 dogs per square mile. From the photos in the article, the stray dogs closely resemble wolves and are the antithesis of the small, toy types that Muscovites love to pamper.

In fact, Andrei Poyarkov, a biologist specializing in wolves, has spent over thirty years studying this stray dog population, intrigued by among other things, their resemblance to wolves. Genetically, in fact, wolves and dogs are identical; what is different is their degree of domestication.

Interestingly enough, Moscow's stray dogs, Poyarkov believes, are somewhere between wild and tame and moving back toward the wild. He divides Moscow's stray dogs into 4 types: those that guard places (usually fenced in institutions like hospitals); those that beg from easy marks they learn to identify on the streets; those that are more or less socialized toward people but who still scavenge for food from dumpsters; and those that are the "wildest"--the predators that are not socialized toward people and who patrol the city at night.

I highly recommend the piece especially if you want to learn about Moscow's "metro dogs," strays that actually ride the metro from station to station, scavenge for food en route and have learned to expect certain handouts from certain commuters at certain times.

"Personally," says Poyarkov, "I think [strays] make life in the city more interesting."